The aim of Rising Tides is simple: pair pro bono professionals with climate-affected communities in every US state and territory to work on climate change adaptation and cultural heritage preservation projects.
About Us
Most frequent questions and answers
96 percent of Americans live in counties that have been hit by major weather disasters in the last five years alone.
No matter what corner of this country you call home — whether it be the coast, the mountains, the Great Lakes, or the Great Plains — climate change is already causing billions of dollars in damages and irreplaceable cultural loss.
America’s diverse tangible and intangible cultural heritage assets are in danger. Cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, archeological sites, historic buildings, and traditions cannot change as quickly as is required to keep up with climate change.
We pair skills-based volunteers with communities in need of climate change adaptation – it’s that simple.
Rising Tides is a matchmaking tool—an online platform to bring community needs in contact with skilled volunteers.. In this way, we can deliver expertise on cultural heritage and climate adaptation directly to overburdened communities.
Our platform will connect communities like Shishmaref Alaska and Pointe-au-Chien Louisiana with volunteer professionals looking to donate their skills through 1-hour advice phone calls and fully fledged, long-term projects. These projects may range from a short consult on a community’s grant application to long-term assistance in designing a cultural resources management plan.
The short answer is – from every corner of America. In 2016 and 2017, co-founder Dr. Victoria Herrmann and partner Eli Keene traveled across the United States and US Territories on a research and storytelling grant, visiting the country’s most environmentally vulnerable communities. In the process, they conducted some 350 in-person interviews with local leaders to better understand how climate change is impacting Americans today.
The idea for Rising Tides came directly from those interviews.
As communities from the Arctic to the Gulf Coast face imminent loss of cultural heritage, local leaders shared a common need for resources, expertise, and guidance beyond what their small towns can offer.
You!
At a time when resources of small and mid-sized communities are being stretched like never before, Rising Tides is helping to preserve cultural heritage and traditions in communities across the United States and US Territories.
But here’s the thing – Rising Tides is powered by people. It and other community-based preservation programs like it are only transformative if professionals like you step up and be the game changers needed to tackle climate change head-on.
Communities, cultural heritage, and historic sites across America need your commitment, your courage, and your compassion as skilled volunteers to act ambitiously on climate change. The cost of inaction is losing our histories and cultures.
Our Team
Victoria Herrmann PhD
Victoria Herrmann works with coastal communities in the United States and U.S. territories on climate change adaptation.
Jeana Wiser
As Co-Founder of Greyspace Collective, Jeana demonstrates a passion and purpose for working at the intersection of resilience and preservation.
